A PACKED HAMPDEN WILL GREET
Rangers and Celtic on Saturday in the Scottish Cup Final, the showcase
event in the Scottish football calendar - that is one side of the game,
a side of the game enjoyed by two clubs who can afford to ride the storm
that has engulfed the game in Scotland. The other side is Airdrie F.C.,
who have now vanished from the field leaving behind silent stands and a
few tearful fans. That is the reality.
As
Editor of this site it seems that these Editorial comments are all there
is to write about, and the sad truth is that with most clubs including
Hibernian literally holding their breath right now, it IS all there is
to write about. Airdrie have become the first club to be wiped from
Scottish Football in 35 years, it has been expected for some time and
now that the dam has finally burst, the smart money is that we will be
lucky to see 35 days pass before the next victim falls. It is easy for
many fans not to feel particularly sorry for Airdrie, for one reason or
another it is a club you have reason to either love or hate, for most
though there is indifference and relief that it is
not their favourites
who will no longer take the field at 3pm on Saturday afternoon.
Cash
is draining from the game at such a rate, it is difficult to see where
the closures will end and who is 'safe'. Probably nobody is safe, a
glance at the accounts of SPL clubs last year will show that the club
who reported the lowest loss was the club that now find themselves in
the SFL First Division, St Johnstone with £339,000. It need
not be all
bad of course, as the more modern clubs not saddled with traditional
'values' have shown that you can do well on a budget. Livingston
reported a loss last year of just £400,000 (although it will be
interesting to see what their charge to Europe this season has cost
them). And then you have Hibernian, who lost £1.6m but pointed up a 40%
increase in turnover to £7.5m, placing the club in the Scottish Top 4 in
that respect.
Dundee United lost £2.3m and are now cutting back to a squad of just 20
senior players to reduce that loss. Hearts waved goodbye to £3.7m and
subsequently much of their squad; Dunfermline saw another £3m leave
without saying goodbye, while Aberdeen are still being hailed for their
foresight in starting the cut-backs some years ago and yet still lost
£3.2m and £3.3m in each of the last two years. And while the big money
is being lost in the SPL, it is those who have tried and failed to reach
that position that are feeling the pinch more than any others. Airdrie
can trace their demise to the decision to move from Broomfield to a new
out-of-town stadium, an attempt to prepare for the SPL that has ended in
tears.
Falkirk will benefit from Airdrie's demise in that they will
not now be
relegated to the 2nd Division, but that will be scant consolation for a
club who themselves are looking down both barrels having for years
failed to return to the big stage because of those very stadium demands
that killed Airdrie. There is not a single club who is
not feeling the
fall-out, not one who can say they are safe. But do we think for one
minute that many of those fans who pack into Hampden on Saturday will
care? Highly unlikely, but those who board their bus for Hampden in the
Lanarkshire area might like to spare a thought, even a fleeting one, for
the demise of a great local club. The Old Firm fans bang the drum about
history and tradition, trouble is it is not OUR history and tradition
they are banging on about. Had they looked closer to home, who knows
what state the game in Scotland might have been in right now. It
certainly could not have been any worse.
